A spokesman from HM Coroner for Wiltshire and Swindon said: “Following a medical examination the body can be released and then the inquest has to be opened. This allows certain paperwork to be issued to allow the body to be moved across to Northern Ireland.”

Funeral arrangements for 23-year-old Cpl Binnie can be finalised once the necessary procedures have been completed.

Cpl Binnie, who is originally from the Republic, settled in east Belfast after he met his future wife.

He was among four soldiers killed during one of the bloodiest days for the Army in Afghanistan last week.

Cpl Binnie, who had been part of a battlegroup mentoring the Afghan National Army, was shot by Taliban insurgents while carrying out a routine reassurance patrol in the Musa Qal’eh region.

The body of the young soldier, who served with the 3rd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland, was flown into RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire on Wednesday morning.